Boiler-house reconstruction, production-line installation, cold-store construction, ventilation systems: when the essence of the job isn't building, but assembling and commissioning machinery and equipment, EAR – erection insurance – takes over from CAR. The logic is related, but the emphasis is different: here the equipment is the value at stake, and testing and commissioning is the delicate moment.
- EAR is the all-risk cover for erection work: installation, assembly, commissioning.
- Testing and commissioning is the genre's key period – its cover is typically limited in time and needs settling in advance.
- The equipment's journey (manufacturer → site → foundation → lifting into place) is a cover question at every stage.
- For erection work in an operating plant, the client's property and business operations are also part of the picture.
What makes it different from CAR?
In structural construction, the risk grows gradually along with the works; in erection work, the full value can already be sitting on site on day one – in crates. The loss pattern matches this: lifting accidents, damage during assembly, machinery breakdown during testing, foreign matter in the system. EAR wordings therefore work with concepts from the world of machinery: the boundaries of manufacturing defects, the relationship with the manufacturer's warranty, the rules for testing and commissioning. The basics are covered in the CAR–EAR article.
Testing and commissioning: already running, not yet handed over
Commissioning is the period when the equipment first operates under load – and when hidden erection defects come to light. EAR typically covers testing and commissioning for a set length of time; a longer test period or a gradual ramp-up needs agreeing in advance. For second-hand, relocated machinery, cover for testing and commissioning is typically narrower than for new equipment – a point worth clarifying when requesting a quote.
The journey and the foundations
High-value equipment is typically custom-made, with a long replacement lead time – which makes the transport stage one of the biggest risks on the project: the storage and transit article. On site, the foundations, the mechanical connections and lifting into place are construction elements – on a mixed project, CAR and EAR elements live together well within one continuous, properly endorsed cover (typical examples: an industrial hall, solar installation).
Erection work in an operating plant
A good deal of mechanical work doesn't happen on a greenfield site but in a live plant: replacing a boiler before the heating season, extending a production line alongside ongoing output. In such cases, the client's existing property and business operations are also part of the risk picture – the operating-plant article and the existing property extension are required reading here. For a client sensitive to business interruption, work organisation (shutdown windows, backup arrangements) is a shared topic for both the contract and the cover.
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